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Use the information in the image below to answer the following question: identify the environmental factor that resulted in the lowest rate of transpiration."A student conducted an investigation to determine the effect of various environmental factors on the rate of transpiration (water loss through the leaves) in plants. The student prepared 4 groups of plants. Each group contained 10 plants of the same species and leaf area. Each group was exposed to different environmental factors. An apparatus was constructed to measure water loss by the plants over tie in 10-minute intervals for 30 minutes. The results are shown in the data table."

Use the information in the image below to answer the following question: identify-example-1
User Domas
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1 Answer

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The environmental factors that are different between the groups are: floodlight, fan, mist and the absence of any of them. So, it is important to analyze their influence on the results. We have the basal results, with none of those influences, showing a moderate rate of transpiration. Then, we see that the transpiration increases under the effect of the floodlight, because the light estimulates processes that will culminate in transpiration, such as photosynthesis and the opening of the stomata. The rate of transpiration also gets higher under the influence of the fan, because the wind will estimulate the movement of molecules, dispersing the humidity around the plant and helping the water that's leaving the plant via stomata to be replaced by other molecules faster. Still, in the first ten minutes the group under influence of the fan is the one with the higher rates of transpiration. But then, after 30 minutes, is the group under the floodlight that has the higher rate. At last, we should analyze the group under the influence of the mist. It has the lower rate of transpiration because there's lots of water around the plant, and the molecules of water released during transpiration are being delayed by this amount of other molecules of water around the plant competing for space. Therefore, the mist decreases the transpiration, but the floodlight and the fan increases it (compared to the group with none of those conditions).

The higher rate of transpiration after 30 minutes is found in the group under the influence of light, because it opens the stomata and increases the plants metabolism, leading to an increase in transpiration rates.

User Jarym
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